Persian Persuasion & Lebanese Love

Today I hosted an ethnic food tour for my group. This month we focused on Persian cuisine and visited a Lebanese market. I think I've found my new fave restaurant, Noon o Kabab. It was a fabulous lunch of Hummus, Baba Ghannouj, Kash-Ke-Bademjan, Caspian Eggplant, Joujeh Koubideh, Joujeh Kabab and Koubideh (descriptions follow).

Unfortunately my camera's battery died shortly after taking pics of some of our appetizers, however here's what I was able to take pictures of... (I'm definitely going back there and will try to get more pics to add here!)

Fresh Feta Cheese & Radish Plate

Hummus
Blended chick peas, Tahini (sesame seed oil),
garlic and spices topped with lemon juice.

Kash-Ke-Bademjan
Mix of eggplant, mint and onion with Kashk (aged dried yogurt),
topped with fried onions & mint.

Baba Ghannouj
Charbroiled eggplant, tahini sauce, fresh garlic, and fresh parsley

Caspian Eggplant
Mix of sweet eggplant, tomato, onion and garlic
topped with moosir (Fine Persian Shallot Mix with yogurt).

Koubideh
Fresh ground beef, prepared daily with Persian seasonings
carefully put on skewers, cooked on open fire

Joujeh Kabab
Sskewers of deliciously marinated and seasoned chicken breast

Joujeh Koubideh
Skewers of marinated & seasoned ground chicken

After lunch, we walked across the street to Al-Khayameih, a Lebanese market complete with a bakery, butcher shop, countless aisles of middle eastern foodstuff and even a section dedicated to flavored tobbaccos and hookahs!

From Al-Khayameih, I purchased some sweet walnut baklava... and it was enough for me to return again (perhaps after another lunch at Noon o Kabab! I'd love to also return so I can take pictures of all the wonderful offerings the store has. It really is a great grocery find in such a diverse neighborhood of Albany Park in Chicago!